A Whiff of Summer Relief: Aromatic White Wines

Chardonnay
and Sauvignon Blanc wines dominate the international kosher white wine
marketplace. Both typically appear as dry wines and appeal to imbibers who want
either a big butter bomb typical of an oaked California â€œChardâ€ or the crisp
citric & grassy tones of a â€œSauv Blanc.â€ However, there are more and more
â€œaromaticâ€ alternatives hitting the shelves to help one quench oneâ€™s thirst and
endure the summer heat with a smile.

Aromatic
white wines are just that, white wines that fill ones glass with enticing
aromas of white and often tropical fruit, honey and herbs. Riesling, Viognier,
Gewurztraminer and Muscat are the most common examples youâ€™re apt to find
available from domestic producers or imported from overseas.

Riesling,
hailing originally from Germany and the Alsace region of France, is the most
prominent and most pliable aromatic white grape as it lends itself to being
made into dry or semi-dry wines, still or sparkling and is often made into a
wide array of dessert wines yet few if any kosher examples are available from
those sources. It too has the crisp acidity similar to a Sauvignon Blanc but
when made as a sweeter wine that acidity appears subdued but prevents a sweeter
wine from coming off as syrupy. As a Riesling ages it often develops a strong
petrol flavor that can be pleasantly balanced by notes of green apple, lemon or
lime, peach, honey and flint. Israelâ€™s Carmel Winery and the Golan Heights
Winery under its Yarden label offer a couple of good examples to familiarize
yourself with the grape and the Hafner Winery from Austria is also producing
some interesting variations.

Viognier
is becoming more popular as an alternative to Chardonnay as both lend
themselves to making fuller bodied wines and often benefit from oak aging.
Peach, apricot, jasmine and tropical fruits with hints of honeysuckle await
those who venture into Viognier.Its
not very common anymore in its native France but has become more popular in New
World regions and several Israeli wineries have successfully dabbled with
Viognier as a possible flagship white wine for the region as its so easy to get
lost in the ocean of Chardonnay thatâ€™s flooded wine stores and restaurant wine
lists.Israelâ€™s Carmel, Yatir, Yarden,
Galil Mountain and Dalton labels all offer distinctively differently choices to
savior.

Gewurztraminer
is seemingly one of the hardest grapes to pronounce but one of the easiest
wines to enjoy. Originally from German speaking villages in Northeast Italy, it
gained prominence in the Alsace region of France. Literally it means â€œspicy
traminer.â€ Traminer is a family of grapes and the spicy doesnâ€™t mean hot; it
means flavorful and anyone who has â€œGewurzâ€ will tell you its packed with
pleasurable punches of apricot, peach, honey, herbs and most uniquely lychee.
Typically as a kosher wine its being made as semi-dry table wines and that
sweetness is a great complement to match fish as well as spicy Asian cuisine.
More and more though late harvest Gewurztraminer dessert wines are winning fans
and creating an insatiable demand that wineries are trying to keep up with. If
you happen upon a bottle from Israelâ€™s Tishbi, Yarden, Carmel, Binyamina or
Gush Etzion wineries grab it up because they donâ€™t stay on shelves for long.

Muscat
covers a whole range of grapes from black to white but in this context weâ€™re
talking about the white variations and they are often floral and noticeably the
most grapey of the aromatic white wines. Muscat Alexdroni has been traced back
to the days of Cleopatra and finds its way into many Old World wines. In
Israel, it often is used for simpler fruity semi-dry table wines that exhibit
notes of honey. Muscat has also found traction as the base of dessert wines and
maybe best shines as the source for slightly sweet slightly sparkling
â€œfrizzanteâ€ wines. A few kosher Moscato dâ€™Asti wines from Italy are imported
into the United States complemented by Israeli examples under the Golan and
Dalton labels.

With
a wide variety of aromatic whites to choose from, stock up your fridge to last
you into the fall and you and any guests will be glad you did.